Fallen Leaves
Prologue: The Crescent Moon= "Children, gather around and listen to the story!" said a voice, filled with years of age and gentleness. "Grandpa, can you tell us the story of Fallen Leaves again?" said two voices, except this time much more youthful than the first. "Of course," smiled Anthony, giving each of his children a hug and got comfortable in the old and worn out armchair. "Fallen Leaves has always been you two's favourites, hasn't it?" "Definitely!" said Luke and Clarissa in unison, both scrambling to find seats in their grandfathers lap. "The story just seems so beautiful and the characters are all amazing!" Anthony gave a sad little sigh. His grandchildren were far too young to understand the story, but it couldn't hurt to tell it to them over and over again. He held both children tightly as he said "It begins on a snowy day in late December.." Let the Dreams of Fallen Leaves Begin. |-| Chapter 1: Wintery Winds= It was December, the coldest month in London. It was Christmas for most people, but for Leaves, it was her birthday. However, she was spending it in a hospital. The unidentified illness she had wasn't getting any better, and she wasn't getting any happier about it. The doctors have managed to keep the illness at bay, but it could strike again at any time. Leaves was a normal girl, living a normal life until her illness struck. Ever since the incident, she had been staying at the hospital almost all the time by herself. Her parents, if she could even call them that, were always too busy with work and barely had time to visit her. This year, they had forgotten about her birthday as well. Leaves covered her disappointment up with a scowl and said to herself "Someday, I want to travel the world of magic and learn new ideals." However, she knew it was impossible. She would forever be stuck in the hospital, like a dying Magnolia, and already forgotten. Inside herself, Leaves wanted someone to care, and like her for who she just was. She was Leaves Eden, nobility, but also just a girl who wanted to be herself. "Lady Eden, have your Christmas dinner." said one of the nurses who helped Leaves get into bed again. "It'll get cold soon, so eat up." Leaves tried her best not to glare and started to pick at her Yorkshire pudding. "Any news from my parents?" she asked, genuinely curious about what her parents were up to. "They sent a gift this year," replied the nurse, helping her arrange her pillows and blankets to make sure Leaves had the ultimate comfort. "Your mother said it was a family heirloom." Leaves was quite surprised by why her mother would give her something that important. "Well, what is it?" asked Leaves, voice quivering as she said each syllable. "Wait here," said the nurse, getting up to go to the guest room next door to retrieve her gift. "I'll be right back!" As soon as the nurse left, Leaves gave a small pout and shrugged off her trademark scowl. To distract herself, she decided to look at the falling snowflakes outside. Oh, how she loved the Wintry Winds and when entire London was cold and beautiful. However, Leaves knew she could never experience the Wintry Winds because of her illness that made her stay in the hospital all Winter. What was unknown even to Leaves, was that she would seen be able to see the Wintry Winds. "I'm back!" said the nurse, and in her hands was a small box that looked no bigger than a ring box. Leaves quickly dropped her hopeful look and went to put her signature neutral face on again. "What is it?" she asked, suspicious that there was no family heirloom that was that small. "Your mother said for you to find out by yourself." said the nurse, dropping the box carefully into Leave's outstretched hand. After delivering the present, she left Leaves in peace to open the box. Leaves hand slightly trembled as she went to reach for the delicate ribbon that held the box together. Opening the box, she found a small handwritten note inside. Keeping the note for later, Leaves went to examine what exactly was inside the box. To her surprise, she found a jewelled Magnolia inside. Each delicate petal had a precious gemstone engraved and the light and energy it gave off was too strong and unusual. Surprised that she hadn't known about this family heirloom, she decided to read the note her mother had sent. "Dear Leaves," she read out loud to herself, wanting to drink every word in that her mother had written on the letter. "This is one of the rarest family heirlooms of Eden, The Dreaming Magnolia. It allows 8 wishes to be grant by the user and when used, each petal will lose it's shine. Use it wisely and use it with pride, it was made for you." The fact that the flower could grant wishes got Leaves excited, magic really was real!. She slowly closed her eyes and whispered her first wish. "I wish I could have a best friend to talk with." |-| Chapter 2: Midnight Dreams= Leaves soon fell asleep not long after she made her wish. What she didn't notice, was the ruby petal already losing it's shine and the amount of magical energy had dropped a little. In her dreams, she dreamed that she was talking to a shadowed person. However, Leaves felt safe around that person, and they were all friends. "Lady Eden!" called a voice, waking Leaves up from her midnight dreams. She woke up to see a few nurses gently shake her and then give her a big smile. "You have a neighbour across from you now!" "A neighbour?" asked Lady Eden, confused, before she suddenly remembered her wish. It actually worked! The wishes were actually granted! "Brilliant!, would you mind if I go greet them?" she asked, showing an unusual amount of happiness. "Why not?" said the nurse, helping Leaves get out of bed and into her slippers. "It'd be nice for you to make a friend with someone your age." Leaves was so excited, she could finally make a real friend! She walked quickly towards the door and decided to head straight into her neighbours room. As she walked in, she saw someone who was bedridden with their whole leg covered in bandages. Determined to talk to them, she walked over and decided to make an introduction. "Hello, my name is Leaves Eden." said Leaves, staring bravely at the bedridden patients figure. The person suddenly moved, and he turned his brown eyes to face her own green ones. "Hey, I'm Anthony." he said in a American accent, different from her British one. "Anthony Wulf" "Nice to meet you," said Leaves, slowly finding out she had nothing else to say anymore, so she decided to ask about why he was here. "Did you break your leg?" "Yeah, from sports at school." he said, giving her a toothy grin. "My brother and I decided that I should go to school here. " Now she was happy, their were getting somewhere and there was visible progress! "So, are you from America?" she asked, knowing it was probably a stupid question. "Oh yeah, I'm from New York." said Anthony, showing no visible signs of being annoyed. "We moved from New York to Japan and than my brother decided to put me in boarding school here." Leaves was surprised now, Japan seemed like such a cool place to visit, with all the sakura trees and different culture everywhere. She had always wanted to go to Japan but her condition never allowed her to travel far from home. "Is Japan a cool place?" she asked, mentally begging him to tell her more about Japan. "Definitely," said Anthony, eyes lighting up at the mention of Japan. "There's a cool card game called Cardfight Vanguard, delicious foods, and wonderful scenery. My brother stayed behind in Japan to work and he loves to play Cardfight Vanguard!" "Oh, I've never played a card game before.." said Leaves, confused at how card games worked because there were so little card games in London. "What's is this game you speak of like?" "It's really hard to explain because I don't have a visual example for you," said Anthony, eyes turning a little sad. "But, I'll tell my brother to bring my deck and bring a deck for you next time he visits!" Leaves was really touched now, someone who finally liked her for who she was. As the two chatted about their lives, one of the nurses had gently knocked on the door and announced that Leaves needed to have her medicine. "Well, I guess I'll see you later," said Leaves, walking out the door and giving him a big wave. "I'll come by again soon!" While the nurses were helping her get back into bed, she sighed happily about her newfound friend and was even kind at the nurses who grinned at her in response. That night, as Leaves went back into the world of dreams, she made another wish on her flower. This time, she wished for something much more ambitious than the last. "I wish for the December to last just a little longer." |-| Chapter 3: December's Beauty= When, Leaves awoke the next morning, she was glad the Wintry Winds were still blowing outside. All she had ever wanted was to see the Wintry Winds, but she just couldn't experience them outside. Wanting to visit Anthony again, she went back to his room and decided to chat with him again. "Good Morning, how do you do this morning?" she said, waking him up from his sleep. "It's cold, isn't it?" Her friend nodded in agreement and held the covers even closer to himself this morning. "December is such a cold and lonely month." "December is also my birthday month," she said gently, not angry at his comment. "I don't mind the cold, I like Winter." He gave her a cheeky grin and said "I like Summer, we all go on vacation, it's warm, and I can eat tubes of ice cream!" Leaves couldn't help but laugh at this, summer did seem fun when he said it. "Have you seen the Wintry Winds before?" Anthony was slightly caught off guard with this question, he wasn't expecting to her ask this at all. "Yes, I have. My school took me to see them, they were quite beautiful." "Oh, I've always wanted to, but I've always been stuck in the hospital during this time of year." sighed Leaves, giving him a sad look. "Their so beautiful and precious." "Yeah.." said Anthony, not sure on what to do to comfort Leaves. "Maybe, we can go seem them sometime, if it's alright with your doctor." "Unlikely, he always says no to any request to go to the outside world." said Leaves, trying hard not to cry at the fact that she wouldn't ever be able to see the Wintry Winds. "Cheer up, you'll get to see them one day!" said Anthony, giving her a thumbs up. "Don't stop believing!" "Thanks," said Leaves, already feeling better by his support. "I really needed that." Deep inside, Leaves was happy, but sad. She knew she could wish to see the Wintry Winds but she didn't even want to think how much price she would have to pay. The offer was almost tempting, using her wishing flower to make her see the Wintry Winds. However, Leaves knew everything would come with sacrifice. "Well, I'm going to go take my medicine now," said Leaves, standing up to leave the room. "I'll see you later." "Yeah, see you around!" said Anthony, giving her a big smile that made Leaves feel happy again. Leaves knew that life was unfair and that she had to push her way through. But the fact that she could wish to see the Wintry Winds bugged her all day. At the end of the day, she was wondering if she would to it or not. She knew she couldn't dare risk it all, but maybe, just maybe something could happen. It was unlikely, but maybe she could see the Wintry Winds one last time before she died. Yes, they said she was cured, but she knew she was going to die (eventually). |-|